Take a glorious month-by-month tour through the kindergarten year with master teacher Miss Cribbage, a guinea pig, as seen through the eyes of Emily the rabbit, one of eight animal students in the class. You'll get to know all of them: Diane, Emily, Louise, Martha, Odysseus, Otis, Roger, and Terrance, snug in their little their schoolhouse on Cranberry Island in Maine. As the months go by, they count, collect weeds and seeds, make maps, sing, and widen their horizons across the activity-filled curriculum. Note the natural focus on all the vital school and life skills, including science, reading, math, music, art, dance, weather, time, football, holidays, punctuation, measurement, money, poetry, and loving your library, of course.

Rosemary Wells understands so well how to tap in to the psyches, concerns, and interactions of children. The gloriously detailed and colorful illustrations make this oversized book one you'll want to share throughout your school year with your kindergartners already living the experience, and with preschoolers anxious to start "real" school.

I was privileged to write the 24-page teacher's guide and to record a 23-song and story-filled CD to go along with the book. Go to the My Kindergarten page on the Disney Hyperion website, www.hyperionbooksforchildren.com/board/displayBook.asp?id=1296, and you'll find the link to print out the idea and activity-filled guide and download and/or burn the CD.  Both are free; you can make as many copies of each as you need. The songs are arranged sequentially to go along with each chapter of the book, and all of the lyrics are in the guide so you can sing along. It's a very fun CD, thanks to the talents of Pete Fand, who produced it and played many of the instruments.

THEMES: FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. KINDERGARTEN. MONTHS. SCHOOLS. TEACHERS.